


Home is Where You Feel Safe

by Not_Kaitlynn



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Abuse, Adoption, Child Abandonment, David Acting as Max's Parental Figure | Dadvid (Camp Camp), David Adopts Max (Camp Camp), Foster Care, Physical Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23879986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_Kaitlynn/pseuds/Not_Kaitlynn
Summary: At the end of camp, Max goes back to his foster house. (Yeah, I know that I'm not good at descriptions)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 99





	1. Gone

It had been hours. It was getting late. His legs were tired. He was extremely exhausted. But even in all of those conditions, Max continued to wait at the front of the camp. David was there too but he wasn't saying much. They both knew that they weren't coming and just didn't want to admit it. Gwen got tired and retreated to her bed, giving Max her number before she did and saying goodbye. She said things along the lines of 'You're a good kid' and 'Enjoy the rest of your bratty life'. She even teared up a little bit. But Max was in no place to judge her since he basically broke down when Neil and Nikki left. He wouldn't let them leave until exchanging phone numbers, however. He doesn't know how he'll contact them without his own phone, but he'll manage. Maybe steal Regina's...

But even so, Gwen was chill enough, for an adult. They both realized how awful life is and got to complain about it to each other. Max accidentally slipped one day and went on a rant about horrible parents. Gwen suddenly became interested and he quickly changed the subject. It's not like Max was hiding anything. Unlike David, Gwen wasn't ignoring the shit that Max was in; even if she didn't even know the half of it. 

"I have half a mind to tell your parents how late they are when they get here." Max heard from his left. And then there's David. He's the total opposite. Forgives people on the drop of a dime. Way too nice for his own good. He always assumed that people would always do the right thing. And most of all, he won't give up on those who are bitter and cynical. That might be one of the reasons that Max started softening up to him. No matter what Max put David through, he would always bounce back and believe in him again. David gave him hope and other feelings he had not felt since before Elizabeth died. When his biological mother abandoned him, Liz was the one who found him and took care of him. Looking back, he really couldn't bring himself to hate his biological mother for it; she was only 15 after all. She could never hope to take care of a child at that age. But he was mad that she just left him to die behind a dumpster. He was also mad to hear that he was not the last child that she abandoned. But when Elizabeth eventually found him, she handed him over to CPS. When he was put in the foster system, she was one of the first ones to request to foster him. Things were good and happy for a while. But Max learned that nothing good lasts forever. When he was six, Liz died in a tragic car accident. Max was then immediately relocated without the system even letting him grieve. He was shoved into a bunch of different foster families that didn't stick. Max found out later that Liz's last words were 'At least Max is okay'. When he found that out, it broke him. The system assumed that it was because of the home and relocated him again. Eventually, he was put in a home with 7 other foster children in that same house. The couples' names were Charles and Regina. They were very strict and harsh with punishments. When they weren't strict, they didn't care about them. It was very clear early on that they were only doing this for the money. 

Max snapped out of his daze and was about to say for the tenth time that his 'parents' weren't going to show up, but he was stopped by headlights coming down the driveway. David straightened up as his smile widened, ready to greet the driver, while Max was baffled that they actually showed up. The car skidded to a stop and Mia stepped out of the car. Mia was another one of Max's foster siblings. She was the oldest and was 17. Mia was actually loved when she was first fostered but as she grew older, they slowly started to pay less and less attention to her. They then fostered more kids and left it up to Mia to take care of them, even if some were only months younger than her, and others were only a few months old. Max did feel bad for Mia; he often found her breaking down in the bathroom, questioning if they stopped loving her because of something she did. Max and the rest of his foster siblings would often show how much they appreciated her with gifts or small parties. She was always very grateful. 

Max found out that the couple would sometimes only foster children because of their name or to make them look better. For example, Max, Corey, and Bo were fostered just because of their race. (Bo is Chinese) Or Ivy and Hyacinth were fostered because of how unique their names sounded. James was fostered because he is transgender to make them look accepting. (even though they really disapproved of him, often misgendering him and using his deadname, Jenna) One thing is for sure though, they all help each other out. When one is locked in the closet and forgotten about, the others would spend the day slipping them food and trying to pick the lock. When one was locked outside and not allowed back in, the others would keep them company by talking through the window. When one forgot to do a chore and Charles was about to come home, they would help finish it or distract Charles to give the others some time. Sometimes they got away with it, and other times they didn't. Max actually felt that his foster siblings were his family. They could tell each other anything and not have to worry about them telling their foster parents. They would cover for one another constantly and no one would even hesitate to help anyone of them. He never got that feeling with the foster parents. The only person who really filled that role was Liz, but Max learned early on to not get too attached to adults. They were either assholes or going to be taken away from him. It's why he tried not to get too attached to David and Gwen. The keyword is tried. He really tried to push them away but he ended up trusting them, even if only a little bit. He knew that the day would come when Max had to say goodbye and never see them again. If he's being honest, Max really cares for David and Gwen. 

He would never admit this to them, however. He only was thinking of how to phrase it to his foster siblings. There was no doubt that he was going to tell them. 

Then David starts talking, "Are you Max's mother?" Mia scoffs at him before saying, "Do I look like his mom?" It was true that Mia looked nothing like him. He was clearly African with black hair and very prominent green eyes. Mia was caucasian with blond hair, hazel eyes, and freckles. David stutters a response before Mia replies, "I'm his foster sister." she then looks at me before saying, "You're lucky that I noticed Regina's phone going off the hook or else you probably would have been left here. Anyway, just get in the car. I brought the red blanket." Max suddenly perked up at the sound of the red blanket. Before Max got in the car he could hear David say, "Who was calling you for you to come here?" Mia responded, while yawning, "Some chick. Said she was worried that Max was still here. Name started with a G or some shit." David gasped and said, "Aww, Gwen! How sweet!" Max then shut the door to the car and let the two of them talk while he wrapped himself in the red blanket. 

The red blanket was the softest blanket that Max had ever seen. It was Mia's from before she was put in the system. She has a hard time talking about where it came from but Max could tell that it meant a lot to her. Even so, Mia would always let one of her foster siblings use it for long trips, or traumatic experiences, or even just nightmares. Max reclined the car chair while thinking to himself. 

Max caught on pretty early in the year that Gwen and David both had feelings for each other. It wasn't until halfway through the summer when he finally convinced David to ask her out. And, as he knew, she said yes. Ever since they have been going on little dates in the middle of the night so they don't interrupt camp activities. 

His car door then opens and David is standing there. Max leans the chair up as David says, "It was really nice to meet you, Max. I don't know if I'll ever see you again, but I'm glad that you came here. I hope you are too. I know that you're not too big on hugs but..." David then holds his arms out, in a silent questiony way. Max sighs and says, "Fine, but make it quick." David then clings around Max in a hug. Max bathes in the feeling of David's comforting grip around him as he breathes in and smells the calming smell of pine and maple. Max closed his eyes as he realized that for the first time in a while he felt safe like this. Granted, it was very uncomfortable but neither one seemed to mind. Max wished that they could stay like that for a few moments longer, but David backed up and said, "Goodnight, Max." he then shut the door and walked back towards the camp. 

Mia got in the car and started to drive away. Once they were on the main road, she said, "Tell me everything. Every person. Every moment. Every feeling. Tell me!" Max chuckled as he began to tell every event that happened that summer. Once Max got to the counselors, Mia asked, "How do you feel about them?" Max smiled and said, "I'll tell you when I tell everyone else." Mia nodded and continued to listen. About halfway through the drive was when Max finally nodded off. Mia saw that she still had about half an hour left of driving. She checked the clock as it blinked '4:36' in green neon. Mia sighed as she pulled up to a stoplight. She leaned into Max's bag and pulled out Mr. Hunnynuts, the only thing that he had left of Liz. She put it in Max's limp hands and then started driving again. 

Once they got home, Mia shook Max's shoulder. "Hey, Max. Max! Charles is up." Max then shot up as he looked into the apartment window that faced the parking lot and saw that the kitchen light was on and the living room light was on. "Shit," Max said as he prepared to climb the tree and into one of the bedrooms. All eight foster siblings had to share two bedrooms. They all decided that all of them would sleep in one bedroom, and use the other to hide or work or just chill. The room that they would chill in, was only accessible through their bedroom. The tree that led to the window, led to the bedroom that they all shared. While in the tree, Max knew that Hyacinth would be awake because of her insomnia. Max broke off a trig from the tree and tapped it against the window. He waited until he saw a figure come to the window. Hya opened the window and allowed them to enter silently. As soon as Max laid on the floor with his sheet and pillow, he was out like a light.


	2. Back

When David woke up, everything around him was silent. There were no sounds of the oven from Quartermaster. There was no laughter coming from outside the counselor's cabin. Even the birds seemed quiet. David didn't like it at all. He wanted the campers back and to be causing mischief and having fun with one another. David just wanted summer to last forever. He looked over at Gwen's desk and saw her packing up her items. David did have one thing to look forward to; Gwen was moving in with him. He was surprised that she was willing to move from Tennesse to Vermont, but he was happy nonetheless. He only had a tiny apartment, but the two of them could manage. It didn't take long for the two of them to pack everything into the camp-mobile, and before he knew it, they were driving away. David looked back one last time as he said goodbye to Camp Campbell in his head. 

To David, he wasn't just saying goodbye to the camp itself. He was also saying goodbye to the memories that happened there. He loved all of them, but the one that stuck with him the most was Parent's Day. David really didn't want to choose favorites, but he couldn't help himself from favoring Max. But David also couldn't help but feel bad for him. Not only did his parents not show up to Parents' Day, but they also didn't even choose a camp for Max. It really did seem like they just dropped him off so they didn't have to deal with him. They weren't even the ones to pick him up. By the way that Mia phrased it, it seemed that they didn't even intend to pick him up. Not to mention the fact that Max is being fostered. It really makes David curious about Max's life. What he has been through, what he is going through, and especially why he didn't tell somebody. David thinks that maybe Max didn't want the extra attention, but that can't be all. 

When Max woke up, he was being vigorously shaken by Ivy. "God damn Ivy!" Max said as he pushed her off of him. "At least let me have coffee before you give me a concussion" Max sat up and yawned as Bo said, "No way! Not when you have so much to tell us!" Hya added in, "Mia filled us in on everything except the counselors." James said, "What's this?" Max looked over to see James picking up his bag. He is pointing to the side pocket that has a piece of paper sticking out of it. Max doesn't recall putting that there so he gets up to look at it. The only thing on the paper is a phone number and an address. "There's something on the back," Mia says. Max flips the paper over to see words written on it that say ' :) Stay safe! Please behave! - David (Camp Man) '. Bo then almost screams, "Woaah! It must be a check or something cause it made Max smile!" Max's smile falls and the others slightly chuckle. Max then hears from behind him, "Who's David?" Max turns around to see Lilac on top of the bookshelf, swinging her legs. 

Before Max can respond, Mia stands to grab Lilac and says, "David is the nice counselor that I met. He-" "The one on the phone?" Ivy interrupts. Mia says, "No, that's Gwen, the other one. David is the one that gave Max a hug." Max interrupted, "I couldn't control that he hugged me!" Mia smirks and says, "He asked and you let him! Though, he did seem, like, annoyingly happy. There is no way that he was that happy all summer though. I would have killed myself if he was. If he-" Max interrupted, "You want me to tell the story?" "Right, right. Go ahead." Mia says as Max looks around to see the six of them waiting for him to tell the story. Max quickly tries to come up with an excuse and says, "What about-" Hya cut him off and said, "They already left for work. Chores are already done, even yours. Just spill the beans already!" 

Max sighs and starts, "Well, first is Gwen, she was the one on the phone. She is someone that I could complain about life to. Her life sucks too so we got along well enough. She cared which I guess is enough. But then there's David. God, he sucked! But, he didn't. It's strange. He was annoying for sure. But no matter what I did, he still said that he was proud of me. I would try to run away, prank him, and even tried to break him but nothing worked! He would always just try to help me. I guess it was his way to torture me because it just made me want him to... I guess not to die? There would be times went I want to help him and I have no idea why. Both of them were probably just trying to get me to feel bad so that it would hurt more when we had to leave." Lilac awws while Mia groans and then says, "Could you chill your philophobia for once!" Max sighs and says, "I don't have philophobia! God, how many times do I have to say it!" Hyacinth then says, "Oh, of course. You're right. You have pistanthrophobia." Everyone but Max chuckles but then the sound of the front door echoes throughout the small apartment. A moment passes and all of them are silent. Then, a booming voice rings out and says, "MAXWELL! COME HERE, NOW!" 

Max runs into the kitchen where Charles is without hesitation. "Yes, sir," Max says as he looks down. He can basically smell the alcohol on his breath, even if he hadn't spoken yet. "Where have you been! You didn't do your chores for months!" Charles booms at him. Max furrows his eyebrows and says, "I-I was at camp that you sent me to. You said that-" "DON'T YOU DARE TALK BACK TO ME!" Charles yells. "YOU NEED TO LEARN THAT WHAT I TELL YOU TO DO COMES FIRST! Next time, DO YOUR CHORES!" Charles then drags Max out of the apartment door by the hair. Max tries to struggle but then Charles slams him into the wall, "Are you trying to get away! FROM ME!" Max forgot what it was like at his house. "no sir" He became too resistant and camp and needed to remember that if he just obeyed, he wouldn't get hurt (worse). He allowed Charles to drag him down the four stories of stairs. Max fell a couple of times and knew that he would bruise but he didn't dare complain. He thought that Charles would drag him to the back and lock him in the abandoned enclosed fence, but instead, he continued to walk down the steps towards the basement. Max started to panic but doesn't struggle. He himself has never been locked in the basement, but his foster siblings tell him that is the worst thing that he does, even worse than hitting them which is saying something. They reach the basement and Charles reaches his hand to the top of a metal cabinet. He grabs a key and unlocks a door that reads 'Employees Only'. He shoves Max inside and slams the door, locking it shortly after. 

The room is almost completely dark. The only light is coming from a small window at the very top of a window. Max walks over to it and climbs a weird metal machine to reach it. He tries pulling or pushing it open, but it doesn't budge. Max sighs and throws his hands in his sweatshirt pocket but feels a piece of paper inside the pocket. He pulls it out and uses the window light to see that it is the piece of paper that has David's number, address, and note. Max looks around the small room to see if there is a phone that he could use. He sees a landline in the corner of the room that is hidden by a coatrack. Max is about to get down, but then suddenly the metal machine got extremely scalding and burnt his hands and knees. Max flinched away and fell to the ground, a cracking sound is heard throughout the room. Max then grips his elbow and can't help but scream out. He realized that he can't feel anything below his left shoulder, but he pushes it aside. He looks at the metal machine and realizes that it must be a generator or heater of some kind. Max gets up and walks to the landline and puts the phone to his ear. He squints at David's number and punches in the digits. While the phone rings, Max realizes that he doesn't even know what he is going to say. He doesn't even have a plan. His only idea right now is to just call the only number that he can right now. It rings a bunch and then goes to voicemail. Max groans and then dials the number again in hopes that he would answer. But he didn't. He calls a few more times and then gave up. Max knew that he would be left in here for days and maybe even weeks. He fell to the floor and couldn't help but start crying. He just wanted David right now. 

When David and Gwen finally arrived at David's apartment in Vermont, they started unloading Gwen's belongings inside. When David heads back to the car for one final check he sees his phone that he forgot in the car. Once he turns it on, he sees that the same unknown number called him 16 times. He just ignores it at first but then remembers that he gave Max his phone number. He starts calling the number as he walks back inside. After a few rings, someone picks up but doesn't say anything. David waits and then says, "Hello...?" "hi David" he hears back. David barely recognizes the voice as Max because of how soft and broken it sounds. He responds, "Max? Is that you?" he waits and hears, "yeah, I just... got bored already and saw your note." David sits down on his couch next to Gwen and says, "Do you want to talk to Gwen? She's right next to me." "sure" he responds softly. David lowers the phone from his face and mutes it momentarily. He turns to Gwen and says "Max called me and he wants to talk to you, but... is it just me or does he sound different? Like, broken?" David unmutes the phone and hands it to Gwen. Gwen starts talking to Max on the phone and David gets up to start getting lunch ready. David knows that Gwen and Max got along really well over the summer. It could be their negative attitude or bad language, but whatever it was, he's glad that they got along. There were even times where David was jealous about how much Max clearly trusts Gwen. David wants Max to trust him too so he could help him, but Max just seemed to push him away every time. David can hear Gwen talking as she starts off in a joking manner but then she suddenly gets serious. David gets curious and walks back over to the couch. Gwen then asks, "Do you wanna talk to David again, bud?" He assumes that Max said yes because Gwen then hands David his phone back. "Are you okay, Max?" David immediately asks. David can hear what sounds like sniffling before hearing, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be okay? I'm fine. Ya know what? I actually have to go so, uh bye." "Max wait you don't have to-" David then hears a beep and the call ended. He worriedly turns to Gwen and she says, "He's not okay." David holds his phone tighter and says, "What did he tell you?" Gwen sighed and said, "The only thing that he told me was that he was locked in his basement. It sounded like he would start crying mid-sentence." David sighs and leans back in his chair as he thinks. David then gets an idea and grabs his laptop from the side-table. He looks up some foster care systems and tries looking up Max's name. "There!" Gwen says as she points to a written description of what sounds like Max. David clicks on the link and he sees that he is fostered by a couple in New Jersey. He also can't help but notice that the couple is fostering eight children. There is a description, age, and a picture for each. After each physical description, there are comments that the foster parents have to make about each child. 

Mia - 17 - caucasian with straight blond hair, hazel eyes, and freckles. - Very responsible and caring for children 

Hyacinth - 17 - caucasian with slightly curly dyed purple hair and very light blue eyes. - Never seems to sleep or complain

Jenna - 15 - caucasian with straight dirty blonde hair and dark green eyes. - Thinks she is a boy but a decent worker

Max - 10 - African with curly black hair and very prominent light green eyes. - Rude, talks back, and inconsiderate but a hard worker

Corey - 9 - African with curly black hair and very prominent green eyes with freckles and glasses. - Fucking fag that we tried to get rid of

Bo - 8 - Chinese with straight black hair and dark blue eyes. - Average. That's about it. Doesn't complain but isn't tremendous either. 

Ivy - 7 - half caucasian, half Mexican with very curly dark brown hair, brown eyes, and freckles. - Will not stop talking at first but after the right tactics, she shuts up

Lilac - 5 - caucasian with slightly curly brown hair and light purple eyes. - stupid fucking brat with autism that came with her sister, Hyacinth

"What are we gonna do?" David hears from his left. David has to think for a minute because he really doesn't know what to do. Max is hours away and they don't even have any proof of anything bad. There is not much that they can do. David hesitates and then answers, "Maybe we could report concerns to CPS." Gwen doesn't say anything and instead starts to dial the number and David soon does the same.


	3. In

Max felt stupid. Why did he even call David in the first place? There was nothing that he could do. Max was sitting in a ball in the middle of the floor. He thinks that he is crying, but he doesn't even know anymore. Soon, the sobbing got worse and he felt that he couldn't breathe. His breaths came in short, sporadic, little puffs. The panic that he felt that he couldn't breathe set in and caused him to breathe even sharper. Max couldn't get enough air in his lungs and he felt that he was about to pass out. Max tried to think about something else, anything else. Max started thinking about how his foster siblings would come to look for him, but that wasn't helping. He thought about how it wouldn't be long until an employee would come inside and let him out, but that didn't help either. Max closed his eyes and tried to think of the last time that he felt safe. His mind wanders to Camp Campbell. When they would all be around the campfire, too tired to move. David's usually upbeat songs would be softly strummed and hummed by David while the campers would struggle to stay awake. Max was blandly looking at the stars, much clearer than anything you could find in New Jersey. Max remembers one night, he couldn't stay awake much longer. His head bobs back and forth in a poor attempt to keep his eyelids open. The last thing that he remembers about that night is a hand softly but firmly pushing his head against something that Max could only describe as safe. 

Max opens his eyes again and realizes that his breathing has gone back to normal. He also sees that he has been humming a tune that David would play and that fat tears were running down his face. Max sighs and leans back at how pathetic he is. 

He is left inside that room for four more days before someone opens the door. Max recognizes it as someone from CPS. Not far behind her, is Charles and Regina. Regina pulls her crocodile tears and yells out, "There you are!" She runs over to Max, picks him up, and hugs him. Charles then puts on his fake smile and says, "We have been looking all over for you! You always end up locking yourself in rooms somehow." The CPS employee then says, "I'm glad that you found him and that this was just a big misunderstanding." she starts walking away as Regina grabs his hand and starts walking him back upstairs. The couple doesn't drop their smiles until they get into the room and shut the door. As soon as it closes, Max is shoved to the floor and kicked hard in the stomach with high heels. The kick turns him over so that he is no longer facing the front door, but the hallway that leads to their rooms. He sees Lilac stick her head out and retreat back into the room, probably to tell the others. He is picked up by the collar and is suddenly an inch away from Charles's face. He screams, "WHO DID YOU CALL?!" Max hesitates and stutters out, "N-nobody, s-sir." Charles throws him back to the floor and Max lands on his spine. max hisses but doesn't dare yell out. "Bullshit. That CPS shit said that she got reports of concerns so she had to check the entire house and give us this whole fucking lecture on how we should 'keep things out of a child's reach' and 'not have so much alcohol'. Whatever. We are going out. By the time we get back, I what this ENTIRE apartment SPOTLESS!" Charles then throws Max to the ground and slams the door behind them as they walk out. The apartment is silent as they hear the two of them stomp down the stairs. Nobody dares to even move until they walk out of the facility. 

Once the sound of their shitty, beaten-up car fades away, the apartment is bustling. Max can hear Mia say, "Lil, get some water. Ivy, make something to eat for him. Something easy to get down and not too hot. Hya, do you know where my first aid kit is?" "Yes," Max hears followed by someone running into the bathroom. Mia continues, "Bo, James, help lift him up so that he can drink the water." Max's vision is blurry at this point and can only see shapes of color stepping towards him. He feels himself being lifted up into a sitting position. Max sees something put in front of his face, but he can't tell what it is. He hears, "Do you not want the water?" Max then immediately reaches for it with his good hand and chugs it. He then feels the cup being taken away from him and he hears Mia's voice say, "Slower, or else you'll throw it up." Max is handed the cup again and he tries to drink it slower, but struggles. He hears Hya come back and say, "Here, Mia" Mia then asks, "Max, can you feel your hand?" Max shakes his head and Mia asks, "From where can you not feel anything?" "elbow" Max says hoarsely. He then feels fingers on his arm touching gingerly and cautiously. The fingers then straighten out his arm and Max yells out in pain. His arm gets bent back again and can feel fabric being wrapped around his arm. Max hears, "Is your vision normal, blurry, fading away, black, or white?" Max responds, "blurry". Max then feels himself being laid down on the ground. He can hear someone ask him something else but the words fade away. Max's vision then gets clear for a few seconds before it goes completely black. 

"Do you think Max is okay?" Gwen hears. Gwen sighs and doesn't even try responding. It was the 25th time he had asked her that question in the past three days. Sure Gwen was worried too, but it showed how much more David cared than her. Gwen actually thought it was funny that David was getting anxiety about something and not her. David would ask questions that vary from 'Do you think he's hurt' to 'Do you think his other foster siblings are nice' to 'What do you think he's doing'. Gwen, on the other hand, was blaming herself. For whatever reason, Max told her more than that he was just locked in the basement. He told her that his foster parents were mean, that he missed Gwen and David and wished that he was with them, that he was tired of being hurt, that he even missed camp. Gwen was told pretty vague things, but she could put the pieces together. She didn't tell David because Max trusted her to tell her but wouldn't tell David. Probably because Max knows how bad David would feel. Gwen felt that she should have seen the signs. Max would wear sweatshirts in the heat of summer. He would act defensively and aggressively so of course he was raised in that kind of environment. Max had a problem with all adults and wouldn't get along well with authority. Gwen can only imagine what Max had been through, only at this age.


	4. Up

Max didn't know why he was back here. He was back at Elizabeth's house. It was so empty. It was like walking around a graveyard. Max didn't know where to go so he started looking for someone, anyone. When he couldn't find anybody inside the house, he opened the front door to go outside, but all he saw was a car skidding on its side, about to hit another car. He recognized the car that was still. It was the car that took him to so many playgrounds and parties when he was younger. Max tried calling out for Elizabeth but he couldn't move. As soon as the car was about to crash, Max was suddenly could move but only fell forward. Then, he was on the ground at his next foster house. Mr. Hunnynuts on the ground too, ripped and torn. His two older foster siblings were laughing at him and kicking him. Max tried to get up but was shoved back and into a chair that was in his next foster house. The chair he was sitting at a dining table and in a very expensive looking house. Sat at the table were only himself and the couple. The two were at each other's throats while Max just tried to eat. All day and night, they were fighting and arguing and hitting. They never did that to him, but it was torture to just have to hear them. Max put his hands over his ears and fell to rest his elbows on the table, but there was no table. He was standing in his next foster house. His hands were in his hair and the single foster parent had a look of pity. He knew that she was just trying to help, but Max was not going to show that he was soft and weak. She would not stop talking and would not stop getting closer to him that Max just couldn't stop himself from bringing his fist to her jaw. Then, Max was in his current foster house, and he just punched Hyacinth. Max's face almost instantly softened and tried to reach out, but he was being dragged by Regina into the living room where Charles was standing. Max struggled and broke free of her grasp and started running he didn't know where he was but then he sees David and Gwen. He runs up to them and grabs David's shirt, trying to get his attention. David looks at him and scoffs as he shoves Max to the ground. Max is confused and looks up to see David's foot about to kick his face. 

Max bolts awake and gasps sharply. While sitting up so fast, Max's arm straightens out and Max hisses while grabbing his elbow. It was just a dream. Just a dream... Max thinks but it doesn't help him feel any better. All of those events actually happened. Except for the last part with David. Max looks around and sees that he is laying on the couch. He looks over to see his foster siblings doing all of their chores. I should go to help them. Max thinks as he starts to get up. "Nope," he hears as a hand pushes him back onto the couch. He looks up to see Ivy standing next to the couch with a vacuum in her hands. "Mia said that you need to lay down for a while." Max groans and says, "Come on, Ivy. I need to help too." Ivy smiles, "No. Oh! And I almost forgot! You should eat something. Here. We couldn't find anything soft but Mia said that this would be fine." She said as she handed Max half of a sandwich of some kind. "Thanks" Max responded as he laid back down. Ivy got back to cleaning but then looked over at Max before saying, "What's wrong? Nightmare?" Max just nodded as Ivy asked, "Wanna talk about it?" Max hesitated before shaking his head. "Ok" he hears as the vacuum starts up again.


	5. Out

Max must have fallen asleep because the next thing that he feels is being thrown to the ground. Unfortunately, he landed right on his left arm. Max couldn't help screaming out in pain even if he tried not to. "HOW DARE YOU" He hears. Max turns around to see Regina standing over him, her heels digging into his back. What now? Max wonders, "YOU LAY AROUND WHILE YOU MAKE THE OTHERS DO YOUR CHORES!" Regina must have noticed that Max's arm hurt because as she emphasized her sentence, she jumped on his arm with all of her body weight, and she was not a light lady. One end of the high heel dug into his wrist as the other one landed on his elbow bone. Max let out an involuntary scream and not soon after, their foster parent's room door burst open. Charles looks at him and points while saying, "YOU! How DARE you wake me up! Just be a man and take your punishment!" Charles then kicks him in the head, chest, and arms multiple times before Max started to coughing up blood. Max was focusing almost all of his attention on staying awake and breathing correctly when he just barely heard, "...pussy..." Max couldn't take any more of this. He wanted to be with David. He wanted to feel safe. He really just wanted to get out of there! Max got up shakily and started to run for the front door. He was caught by the collar before he could and was beaten senseless. 

Hya heard screaming coming from the living room as she opened the door to look. She saw the horrifying sight of Max being beaten black and blue. It's when Regina runs into the kitchen to grab something that Hyacinth decides that she has to do something. She vigorously starts to wake up her other foster siblings while trying to think of something to do. Hya looks out of the window and behind the tree, she sees the bus stop with a bus sitting there. She checks the time and sees that it leaves in two minutes. She basically screams, "We need to get Max to David. The bus leaves in just a few minutes. He needs to be on it!" Everyone agrees but then the problem of who would go with him arose. They couldn't just send an unconscious 10-year-old on a bus and expect him to get from New Jersey to Vermont. They come to the conclusion that they should send whoever would anger the two of them the most so that the beating wasn't just shifted. They were deciding between James and Lilac and they decided on James because he could actually carry Max and Lilac was only 5. Everyone hands James money for the bus rides that they had all saved up. Just as they were about to form a plan they hear a thud. Concerned, they open their bedroom door. The sight before them is Max on the floor only a couple of inches away from the front door. A small piece of paper is clenched in his hand and he appeared to be unconscious. The kids didn't have to guess why he had fallen because the sight of a kitchen knife in his head was much too prominent. Regina then walked closer with more knives in her hands. Most kids were in shock and did not know what to do, but James and Mia immediately took action. Mia screamed at them to stop and consider what they were doing while James ran into the bathroom and came back with a towel. He then picked Max up, trying his best to not move any injuries too much, and ran out the door, not bothering to close it. Charles's face gets red as he screams, "JENNA! GET BACK HERE!" but he gets no response. Mia just tries to take his attention again and calm him down. 

James has adrenaline flowing through his entire body as he turns the corner and sprints down the street. "James!" He turns and sees Ivy with her head out of the window as she throws the red blanket. It lands on the sidewalk and James gets it easily. He sprints onto the bus a looks at the driver. James is just barely able to get out, "I need to get to Vermont!" The driver looks annoyed at him but then takes notice of Max in his arms and just sighs as he closes the door. James sits down in the third or the fourth row as the bus starts moving. He checks Max's head to see that the knife was not that deep. It was in sideways so even if the cut was long, it was only about half a centimeter deep, at the most. James sighs as he removes the knife and puts it on the ground of the bus. He starts to dap the towel on Max's head to stop the bleeding as he sees the piece of paper in Max's hand is David's address and phone number. James sighs wondering if David would even let them in. What if he kicked them both to the streets? Or turned them in and they would be put back with Charles and Regina? What if he took Max and then kicked James to the street because he didn't know James? All of the what-ifs in James's mind slowly lulled him into an uneasy sleep as he leaned his head on the window. 

When James wakes up, he is being shaken by the bus driver. James then suddenly asks, "How far did we go? How much do I own you?" The driver responds, "We're in Vermont. Where exactly are you trying to go?" "What! That's too kind of you sir! Please, here is fine, we'll find our way!" James responded. The driver shakes his head and says, "Nope. I'm not letting two kids walk around alone. Besides someone paid for my drink the other day, so I thought I should pay it forward. The ride is free. Now, do you have a specific address?" James was in complete shock. He couldn't say anything. All he could do was show the driver the address on the paper. "Thank you, so much!" James said, with tears in his eyes he realized. The driver nodded and walked back up to the wheel.


	6. Safe...?

The driver ended up dropping James and Max off next to the subdivision that the apartment was located. James made sure to tip the driver a lot. Max was still unconscious, but at least he was still breathing. As James walked into the facility that David's apartment was in, he realized how bad the two of them looked. Max was obviously worse with dried blood everywhere, bruises covering most of his body, and his very skinny form from not eating anything in the 'basement'. James shivers at the thought of his first time in the 'basement'. James was also skinny, but not as bad, he was short for his age, he had bags under his eyes from when he and his foster siblings were looking for Max, he was covered in dried blood (he wasn't sure whose), and his hair was too long and disheveled. Though, to him, his hair was always too long. Charles and Regina wouldn't allow him to cut his hair like a boy so his hair was a few feet long. James felt dizzy but he refused to stop until he found this 'David' guy. He walked to the number that the paper said and he rang the doorbell. The doorbell beeped blue and a robotic voice said 'audio call started' then a beep along with a very friendly "Hello?" James starred at the device and then said, "I'm looking for people named David or Gwen?" Then the voice said, "Yes, that's me! I'll be right there!" Then the light from the doorbell went off. James heard the door unlock and a tall man with short red hair stood in from of him. James looked at David and honestly got jealous of how short his hair was. When David opened the door, he was smiling but it dropped instantly when he saw them. He can't focus on the man's face anymore, but with the last of his strength, James hands Max to who he presumes is David. The man takes Max from James and he can see his mouth moving but no words come out, he can only hear a ringing noise that just keeps getting louder. James then turns around to leave but then blacks out. He was unconscious before he even hit the floor. 

David was in absolute shock. As he held a broken kid and saw the other one faint before his eyes, the only thing that he could do was yell, "Gwen!" He heard her walking towards the front door as David looked over the kid in his arms. It only took a few seconds for David to realize that this broken bag of bones was Max! "What Dav-" he hears Gwen but he cuts her off saying, "We need to go to the hospital. Now!" Gwen quickly picks up the girl on the floor and they both run to the car and drive quickly but safely to the hospital. 

Bo couldn't move. It hurt too much to even open his eyes. But when he did, he saw his foster siblings sprawled out on the floor as well. All of them had taken quite the beating. Charles and Regina were furious. They weren't mad that Max and James were lost. They were mad because now the two missing can't help clean and if CPS found out, they would all be taken away. The kids supposedly 'betrayed them' and the couple was sure that they would learn their lesson. Bo looked around a little while longer and realized that Lilac was nowhere to be seen. Bo thinks that Charles and Regina took her but they don't have a reason to do that. The two of them always hated Lilac. At first, they only wanted to foster Hyacinth because she was a hard worker. But they didn't know that she came with her sister, who has slight autism. She could never work as hard as the rest of them and they would be furious about it. They could probably kill her with no remorse, which is what terrified Bo now that she was missing.


	7. Hospital

David was sat in a hospital room, waiting for the two to wake up. They were in the same room, the hospital beds just a few feet away from each other. Gwen had gone to get food for them when they did wake. David couldn't believe that Max was here. The doctors said that he had to get stitches in his head, multiple bones in his elbow were shattered, his ankle was sprained, his spine was severely damaged, a fractured collar bone, and he was covered in bruises. The doctors accused him of abuse but David had to explain that the two of them just showed up at his house. The other kid was injured as well. David didn't actually know how to address the other child. Everything appearance-wise would point to female, but the doctors said that they were wearing a makeshift binder. David would ask what they preferred but the binder broke three ribs on the kid. They also had a fractured and dislocated jaw, broken nose, dislocated shoulder, and just as many bruises as Max. Both of them were also extremely malnourished. Why didn't Max tell me? David thought He was just suffering in silence. He doesn't deserve this. Nobody does. 

David was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard groaning. He looked up to see the other kid sitting up and looking around the room. "Hello, how are you feeling?" David said as he stood up to walk over to them. The child flinched and backed away from David, their eyes only held terror and fear. David stopped moving and said in the nicest tone he could, "It's okay, you're in a hospital. You two were pretty beaten up. Do you remember what happened?" The kid then looked around the room and stopped when they saw Max. They seemed to relax after that. They looked at David and said, "Are you David?" David sat down on Max's bed and said, "Yes, and if you don't mind, can I ask what pronouns I should use for you?" As soon as the question leaves David's mouth, the kid's eyes started dumping tears as if they didn't even realize it. They put their hands to their face to try to stop the tears that won't stop. David feels guilty and asks, "I'm sorry did I-" "No! No, you're fine. It's just that... nobody even asked me that before or even considered." They finally wipe all the tears from their face and continue, "I would like to use he/him. My name is James." As he said his name, he stuck his hand out. David shook it and said, "It's nice to meet you, James. Oh! I almost forgot! How are you feeling? Sore? Does talking hurt?" James tilts his head in confusion and says, "I'm not the one hurt. Max is. You should help him first." David replies, "He hasn't woken up yet. And besides, you were hurt too. You both needed help. And by the looks of it, you both need help." David was cut off by the sound of a sob. He looked up at James to see that he was bawling as much as before. David was about to apologize when he heard, "Great job, David. You made the second least crier to cry." David turns his head to see Max's eyes open and looking straight back at him. "Hey, buddy! You okay?" David asks. Max rolls his eyes and says, "Does it look like I'm okay?" David was once again cut off by the sound of the door opening. David knew exactly who it was, so he didn't bother turning. He was able to see that the two both flinched and their heads turned fast as the door opened. 

"Oh hey, Max." David heard from behind him. Gwen then placed the food on a table and walked over to sit on James's bed. Gwen couldn't help but notice that the two children were eyeing the food that she had brought in with her. They were clearly trying not to look at it but when they did, their mouths would water a little. Gwen huffed slightly and walked over to bring the food to them. They held it and just looked at it and then James looked back at Gwen. Gwen just stares and wonders why they aren't eating. They seemed so hungry earlier. She looked at David to see that he was thinking. Suddenly, he perks up like he has an idea and then says, "You guys know that you're allowed to eat, right?" By the time Gwen turned back towards the kids, they had started devouring their food. They were eating it so fast like it was the best thing that they had ever had, even though it was just some shitty hospital stale sandwiches and applesauce. 

That really made Gwen and David worry. Wherever the two of them were staying, they were not allowed to eat until told to. Or at least they were restricted. Then David wondered how they got their wounds. Those kinds of wounds couldn't have happened on accident. He thinks that maybe some of the bigger injuries could have been caused by playing or a fall, but those bruises were too prominent and there were too many of them. There was one more thing that was concerning David. It was something that the doctors and nurses didn't even notice. Gwen didn't even seem to know. It wasn't their puffy, tear-stained eyes. It wasn't the heavy bags under their eyes. It wasn't the old blanket Max was wrapped in when he first saw them. It wasn't even the fact that the two were acting like nothing unusual happened. 

Even though all of those things were making David worry, nothing was as worrying as the faint scars that littered both of their arms.


	8. Home

James and Max stayed in the hospital for two days before David and Gwen took them to their shared apartment. The two kids were both pretty timid and shy when they arrived. They stood around and didn't know where to go or what to do. James's jaw was so broken that he had to get it bandaged shut for at least a week. Max had to get a cast on his shoulder and have it in a sling for any time from a week to a month. 

It was currently 1:35 am and David and Gwen were trying to get their spare room cleaned up so the two of them could sleep. It took a little while but when they finally finished, Gwen and David walked into the living room to see James and Max talking in sign language. David then walked over, ignoring the fact that he also knew sign language, and said, "The guest room is all set up. You two can stay here as long as you need to." Neither kids move as Max says, "Uh, thanks but we don't want to bother you too much. We can just sleep out here on the couch if you want." David gasped and replied, "Of course not! Now come on to bed, it's late." David began lifting Max up from the couch as James signed to Max the letters H-Y-A. Max then said, "Oh yeah, we're normally up anyway because our foster sister has insomnia so we like to stay up with her." David smiled at them and said, "Well that's very nice of you two! But do you at least want to lay in the bed and try to sleep?" James then suddenly stood up and tried to say, "Yo-" but he was cut off by the pain of talking. He then signed to Max 'We get a bed? WE GET A BED!' David couldn't help but chuckle and say, "Alright, come on. It's been a tiring few days so let's get to bed."

Max and James did end up falling asleep soon but since they were used to getting little sleep, both of them woke up around 4. Both decided that they would earn their keep for the day now so they could get it out of the way. James started in the living room while Max went to the kitchen. Max first started with the dishes and then just tidied up before sweeping, mopping, and cleaning out the fridge. He found that it was difficult to do in a sling, but he managed. Max was surprised to see that almost none of the food was expired as it would be in their foster home. David also had a momentous amount of food in comparison. The pantry was the same way. It was stocked with food that was more than enough to last David and Gwen a few weeks at least. Max felt his stomach rumble but he decided not to take any food in fear that David would notice and kick them out. 

It was a little before 6 when Max moved to clean the bathroom when Max heard something shatter. His heart dropped as he walked back out to the living room to see that when James was sweeping, he hit a vase with flowers in it and it broke. Max felt his heart stop even more when he saw Gwen walk out of their bedroom. She started walking over to James but Max ran over. He refused to just watch James get punished after he had done so much for Max. Gwen said grudgingly, "what the hell happened?" Max saw James start to sign a bunch of excuses and apologies but Gwen clearly couldn't understand what he was saying. Max walked up in front of James and said, "We didn't do anything wrong. He just hit a vase and it broke. We are so sorry! We can clean it up and pay for it! We didn't mean to wake you up! Just go back to bed and in a few minutes, it would be like it never happened! We are really sorry! We-" "Woah, woah. Kid calm down. You don't have to pay for anything. What are you two even doing up? David said that you two looked like you need sleep." Gwen said as she sat down on a rocking chair. "I- We- It's- But I- And he-" Max was having a hard time trying to say something that would get Gwen away so they could deal with the mess. After about a minute, Gwen sighed and handed Max the remote to the tv and said, "Why don't you guys sit down and watch something while I get this, okay?" Max wanted to refuse and to just clean it up himself, but he couldn't just say no to Gwen after she's done so much for them. Max sat down on the couch and James soon followed. In three minutes, both of them were just trying to keep their eyelids from falling. James was lying across the couch while Max was curled up in the corner of the couch upright. Both ended up passing out before fifteen minutes had even passed. 

Gwen was throwing away the last bits of glass when she heard slight snoring from the couch. She walked over to see that the two looked exhausted. When she looked around the apartment she could see why. It was spotless. Everything was put away, the floors went reflecting and the windows were cleaned. Gwen wasn't sure why two kids would willingly clean an apartment this early in the morning but it clicked that this might be normal for them. They might have to clean all day every day and this is just what they are used to. Gwen really did feel awful for the two; they were just kids after all. And according to where they were staying, there are still 6 more children in the household. Gwen remembers the last day of camp when she was calling the listed phone number. A woman picked up and Gwen was relieved to think that Max's mom was on her way, but she later heard from David that the girl was his foster sister. It stuck in Gwen's mind that David said that the girl claimed it was lucky that she answered the phone. What would their foster mom had done if she was the one who showed up? 

Gwen pushed it aside and decided to tell David what the noise was. 

When Max woke up, the first thing he noticed was a really good smell. It was something that he'd never smelt before. Something was cooking and it was sizzling when it cooked. Max looked over to the other side of the couch to see James starting to wake up as well. Max could tell that James could smell it too and then James mumbled, "bacon..." Max got off the couch and James soon followed to walk into the kitchen. Max saw Gwen sitting at the table with coffee facing away from them while David was humming a tune in front of the stove. He picked up a spatula and moved around whatever was in the pan. Then, Max's attention was brought back to Gwen when she cleared her throat. He looked over to see Gwen holding up a second coffee cup. Max then walked over to the table to grab the coffee and basically chug it. He hadn't had coffee in so long it was almost like heaven. Max sat down with the rest of the coffee while James walked over to David to look inside of the pan. David put a hand in front of him and said, "Careful, it'll sizzle back at you." James just looks for a minute before saying, "Can you burn mine a little, please?" "Sure thing!" David says before turning to Max and asking, "You want yours burnt too, bud?" Max just stared at David, thinking about how to respond but then James interrupted and said, "I don't think he's ever had bacon before. So probably just make his normal." David nodded and turned back to the stove but Gwen looked up at Max and said, "You've never had bacon before?" Max shook his head as James took a seat next to him. "Well, now is a great time to try it!" David said as he played plates in front of the three of them that consisted of bacon, eggs, pancakes, toast, and goetta. 

However, the two kids didn't touch the food and only glared at the two adults, timidly. David looked at Gwen before looking back at the children and saying, "You guys don't have to ask to eat, ya know? You can eat whenever you're hungry. Go ahead," At that statement, James started stuffing his face with the bacon and eggs while Max went for devouring the goetta. 

James and Max ended up fuller than they had been in a long time. Both of them ate everything on their plates, except that James claimed that he did not like goetta, but Max was quick to claim it. The two retreated to the guest room and bathroom to get ready. Once they were showered and dressed, they sat on the couch waiting for David and Gwen to emerge from their room. When they did, Max noticed that both were dressed not completely casual, but not totally formal either. Max hesitated slightly before saying, "Where are you two going?" David looked fidgety but Gwen responded, "We have to go to the police station so we can give them information on what is going on. If we don't then we could be accused of kidnapping and that wouldn't be good for anybody." Max wanted to protest, but they were absolutely right. The two sank back into the couch, prepared to be left alone for hours at a time. David and Gwen paused before Gwen said, "You two are coming too, ya know?" David added in, "Yeah, you have to be the ones to tell what happened, not us. I don't think that they would believe us if you weren't with us." Max sat up, clearly surprised, and stared at David. 

He never got to go anywhere in New Jersey. He barely even knew where he was since the time he was with his foster parents. He was only allowed in their apartment and at school. If he even dared to be late, he wouldn't be able to go to school the next day because of how sore he would be. And Max wasn't stupid; he knew that this was abuse, so he tried once to do what they always tell you. He told his guidance counselor about what was going on in his house. He would never even think of calling it his home. For a few days, nothing happened. It was almost like he never told anyone at all. After a week of confusion and a few good beatings, Max learned from his foster siblings that the counselor confronted his foster parents about it. They just denied it, saying that he was a bad kid seeking even more attention and she believed them! Max knew at that moment that he could never trust adults; they would just turn on him and just wait until they wouldn't have to be in his life anymore. 

He thinks that maybe this is why David and Gwen want to go to the police station so bad; so that they can just hand over Max and James to someone else to take care of. "Yeah sure. Whatever let's just go" Max says as he stands up and puts his shoes on. 

Lilac can't think straight. Well, she can't normally think because her autism affects her comprehension skills and speaking skills but she can't make a sensible thought. She doesn't know what to do. Sitting in the back seat of the car going 73 miles per hour, looking out the window, is not the best time to have the best thoughts anyway. She doesn't understand where she is going, why they are going so fast, or why they only took her and not her foster siblings. A light caught her attention as her head focused on the center console in the car. Regina's phone glowed from one of the many random apps she has. Lil the looked and saw that both of her foster parents didn't even glance at the device. She then quickly grabbed the phone and opened up the messaging to their apartment neighbor. She pressed the space bar and sent it before quickly putting the phone back down. Then, without changing speeds, the car makes a sudden right turn onto a street. Lilac is pressed against the glass because the seatbelts broke a long time ago. Out the window, she sees a sign that says 40 mph on it, but she doesn't know what that means. She thinks to herself that she never knows what anything means. The sign. The fear her foster siblings had. The anger in his foster parents voices when they talked about Max. And the small piece of paper they printed from the apartment complex security cameras. She couldn't understand why a picture of Max holding a piece of paper was so important. She didn't think it had any worth after all because you couldn't see Max's face, only what the paper said. 

(By the way, I edited some previous chapters if you want to look at those so you aren't confused.)


	9. Police Station

The drive to the police station was surprisingly short. Max takes a notice of that just in case he has to leave again. Max doesn't really know where he would go if he did. David was really his last choice so he and James would probably have to live on the streets and steal or beg for food. Much too soon, they parked the car in the police station parking lot. Silently, Max got out of the car as they walked towards the front doors. Max really didn't know what to do, what to say, or where to go so he just walked over to a chair and sat down. James followed him and sat next to him while David and Gwen were talking to the lady at the front desk. After a few minutes, the two adults sat with them also. Max looked over at them and said, "So, what's happening?" Gwen pulled out her phone and responded, "We have to wait for a social worker to show up so that they can be informed of the situation also." James leaned in and said, "Did someone report us missing or...?" "Yeah, your principle reported both of you missing, but nothing was heard from your foster parents. The police said that they are going to try to find them and ask about their thoughts." David responded while handing Max his phone. Max didn't take it and instead looked up at David. David glanced at him and said, "You seemed like you liked going on it at camp." Max shrugged it off and took the phone. He fiddled with it for a few minutes before they were called into a back room. 

When they got there, a male police officer was in there already along with a male CPS worker. They all sat down in the chairs provided as the social worker started, "Hello, it's nice to meet you. My name is Casey and this is my brother, officer Milo. I just need a few questions from the kids and then verify a few things with the adults and we can see what we can do, okay?" Max was too nervous to do anything other than nod and it seemed that James was in the same boat. "Now young lady, can you tell me your full name if you have one?" James fidgets in his seat and mumbles nonsense to himself before Casey spoke up and said, "The name you were born with." James is silent for a few seconds before saying, "Jenna Naomi Garcia." "Okay, and now you young man?" "Max. I don't have a middle or last name." Casey nodded as he marked something down on a clipboard. "Jenna, can you tell me how many foster homes you have been in and your experience with your biological family and the foster homes?" James sits up and says, "Um, sure. I've only had one foster house. My original family left me at a fire station, I was the only child. And ever since I was 3, I've been at the foster house that Max and I were in. Should I describe it before Max describes his, or...?" Casey shakes his head while writing and says, "That's okay, Max you can go ahead." Max takes a deep breath and starts. 

"I've had 7 foster houses. I was abandoned at birth behind a dumpster so I don't know who my real mom or dad is. A woman named Elizabeth found me and then started fostering me. She was really nice and treated me like her actual kid but when I was six, she was in a car crash that killed her. I then got moved to a foster house with two other foster brothers and two parents. The parents were fine and they tried their best but the two kids were mean and would pick on me a lot. I guess because of how happy and naive I was at the time. About a year later, I was moved to another foster house that had one infant foster sibling and two parents. The baby was the parents' biological kid and nothing really happened in that house. They were just so caught up with the baby that they couldn't spend that much time with me. Then was a foster house with two parents and no other kids. They didn't really ever do anything to me, but they would always fight with each other and it was almost like torture. After that was a foster house with just a lady. She was trying to be nice but I knew she was just pitying me. She gave me back after I kind of... punched her. And then that leads to the foster house that James and I were at." 

James nods and says, " There are two parents and eight total foster kids. Mia, Hyacinth, me, Max, Bo, Ivy, and Lilac." Milo interrupted and said, "That was only seven names." Max and James look at each other before James says, "Well, there's also Corey but we haven't seen him in a long time; about a year I think. But anyway, they're pretty bad. There's never any food in the house, the drink too much, they make us do a lot of chores, they hit us pretty hard, and their punishments are really severe. Max was hurt really bad and I had to run with him, just to get out of there and I showed up at David's apartment." Casey nods and writes some other stuff on his clipboard before saying, "And David, how do you know the children?" David clears his throat and vigorously wipes his eyes to try to make it seem that he wasn't crying but then Gwen speaks up and says, "The two of us were Max's camp counselors but we just recently met James." Casey frowns and writes some other stuff before saying, "And how long were the two of you looking after him?" David sighs before he is able to speak without crying and says, "About three months." Casey nods and then places his pen down and says, "Alright so he's what I can tell you...

James can't stay with you." All four jerk up and ask 'what' when Max asks, "Why?" Casey sighs before saying, "David and Gwen have not taken foster care classes. They would technically be able to foster you because they have already looked after you for so long, they would still have to eventually take the classes." Max crosses his arms and furrows his eyebrows and says, "Well, why doesn't he stay while they are taking the classes so he doesn't have to leave." "You of all people know that we can't do that. We can try to relocate Jenna back with them as soon as they finish the foster care classes. Until then, she has to move to a foster home that has the classes completed." Max wanted to fight about it some more until he looked to his right. He could see James staring off into space with a blank stare and David who was looking at James with a look of what Max could only identify as pity or guilt. Max knew that David didn't know that this would happen. He couldn't be mad at anyone. Max leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms while David and Gwen were asked more questions. After a couple more minutes, they got up and left the police station silently. 

When they shut the door to the apartment, Max bolted to the guest room and James followed close behind, shutting the door behind them. David sat down on the couch with a sigh and buried his face in his hands. He ran the hands on his face up through his hair and help them on his head. Gwen stared at him before sitting next to him and placing her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and tried to give a genuine smile, but it fell easily. 

Bella was more than terrified. She knew that a random text of a spacebar from their shitty neighbors meant something important. She knew that those neighbors had some foster kids, but she never could have expected this many, let alone to see them sprawled on the floor covered in bruises and blood. Bella, also known as Bean by some, first checked to make sure that they were all alive before running to the front of the apartment complex for help. She did not expect to see cops already standing there. She immediately told them about her circumstance and they said that they were looking for their foster parents anyway. She rushed them to their apartment and called an ambulance soon after.


	10. Missing

David and Gwen had both managed to fall asleep on the couch and had woken up around the same time. David knew that someone would have to pick up James in a few days so he wanted to spend time with all of them while he still could. David sat up and walked over to the door to the guest room. He knocked while saying, "Hey, I know you guys are mad but let's make the most out of this and go do something. Minigolf, bowling, roller skating; it's up to you guys!" No response. David knew he shouldn't just walk into their space, but his instincts kicked in and he felt worried. He opened the door and saw that no one was in the room. David panicked and looked in every room in his house, but he couldn't find them. He looked at Gwen and knew that she didn't know where they are either. They both bolted out the door but not before David grabbed his keys. 

Max and James didn't know where they were going. They just knew that where ever they were going, they would be together. Max couldn't leave his last foster sibling behind. He already knew that he would never see the others again. He refused to say bye to James too. It was actually James's idea to run but at first, he wouldn't let Max go with him. James would say 'you actually have a chance to a good home. I don't'. But after much persuasion, James allowed Max to go with him. Max felt pathetic walking under a bridge with a sling still around his left arm, but it hurt to take it off so he would just deal with it. Then, another man under the bridge suddenly stood in their way. He looked the two of them up and down before saying, "Hey there little lady. Are you lost? Why don't you come home with me?" The two weren't stupid and just turned around to walk another way, but then he grabbed Max. He was holding his mouth shut and he could feel a knife being pressed against his throat. James looked terrified as the man said, "I insist."

Since Bella was the one that found them, she was able to stay with the children in the hospital. She was also able to tell the police that three of the children are missing. The police told her that two of the missing children are safe and that they are the ones who came to the police. They did say that it seems that the youngest, Lilac, is missing. Bella felt awful for not doing something sooner; she knew that their house was bad, but she never thought it was this bad. Bella was snapped out of her thoughts by Ivy sitting up and yelling, "Bella Bean!" She was reaching her arms out while she said her name. Bella sighed and walked over to give Ivy a hug. She was glad that she was one of the 'good guys' in their lives.

(I am also posting this story on Wattpad if you like that better than this)


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